Peter’s Railway, Book 1
A New Railway

Description – Book One

Peter’s Railway is the story about a young boy who lives with his family in a cottage at the edge of his Grandpa’s farm. To make visiting each other more fun, Peter and Grandpa build a miniature steam railway.

They have adventures along the way and use all sorts of machines and tools to help them in their great building project. When they are having a rest, Grandpa tells Peter some amazing-but-true stories from the old times on the railways.

The books are illustrated with beautiful pictures by the railway artist, John Wardle.

The story ends with the grand opening ceremony and the first steam train running the full length of the scenic railway: through the fields, woods and alongside the river.

Many technical ideas are explored, with the steam engine and railway being explained in special pages at the ends of chapters.

There are 14 pages of simple-but accurate technical drawings to explain, add interest and answer questions.

Technical ideas explored in Book 1:  Why railways don’t have steep hills; How a spirit level works; How track is constructed, including how the joints allow the rails to expand on hot days; How the wheels keep the train on the tracks; Couplings and buffers; How the boiler makes the steam; How the steam is used to drive pistons and turn the wheels to pull a train. At the end of the book is a glossary of special words.

Hardback, 96 pages with 30 watercolour pictures by John Wardle.
Age 6 to 12 years